Life in the Delta makes visits to civilization even sweeter

There are a lot of bonuses to living in a small town in Mississippi, which I (mostly) lovingly, refer to as 1937.

Our mail gets delivered directly to our door.

Everything in town is less than five minutes away from home. There is never any traffic.

And if, hypothetically, your husband were to forget to pick your kids up from school one afternoon, while you were sleeping with your phone turned off, because you were running a fever and knew that you didn’t have to pick up your kids — because your husband was going to get them — if, that were to happen in good ole 1937?

Well, it just might happen that every teacher at school knows where you live and if they didn’t stick your kids in the car with one of your best friends to bring them home, they might just toss them in their own car and bring your kids home themselves.

Hypothetically.

Many of the things that seemed like they might be a big transition when we moved to Mississippi turned out to be blessings.

I thought I would miss shopping and going to Starbucks and a movie theater.

And while I do miss them, it helps me to appreciate these things more when I go to bigger cities, i.e., “civilization.”

And I enjoy supporting local businesses instead of living in a cookie-cutter town where one strip mall looks like the next.

It’s cute here, y’all.

Last week, my mother, Shuggie, and I loaded up all three girls and headed for Jackson, Miss.

I had a work meeting to attend, but we had big plans for the rest of the day: A Target trip for new shoes for my oldest, Aubrey, new Play-Doh toys for the youngest, Sadie, and a new scarf for Emma, my middle child and budding fashionista.

The girls ate lunch at Chick-fil-A and made new friends on the indoor playground. Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets are a delicacy among Delta children — every bite was savored.

We headed to the movie theater after lunch and I have to say, the excitement on my kids’ faces anytime they get to go to a movie, is almost enough to make me glad that they don’t get to go very often — it’s an adventure, a novelty — a huge treat.

Their little faces light up as soon as we open the doors and walk into the lobby.

We got our popcorn and made our way into the darkened theater.

As the lights on the screen flickered on the girls sunkissed faces, I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

They shreiked with laughter at the movie and elbowed each other during the really funny parts.

Watching them watch the movie was worth every dollar I spent.

I heard Aubrey whisper to Emma, “Eat the popcorn and the M&Ms at the same time! It’s so good.”

Salty and sweet — that’s what it’s all about, right?

Robin O’Bryant is an author, humorist and speaker. Her latest book is “Ketchup is a Vegetable and Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves.” Connect with Robin O’Bryant on Facebook and Twitter and visit her blog at www.robinschicks.com.

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